All about Justin

So, because almost every post on this blog of over a year has been about the kids or myself, or some random political commentary, when I saw this on Amy's blog I decided it was high time to talk a little about my cute husband, just so you all know there really is a person behind that picture to the left! I'm not very good at being cute and creative on these answers, but here goes the truth, at least.

1.Where did you meet your husband? We met in a singles ward in Provo. I had recently graduated and was working, he was working and finishing up school. He was being chased by every girl in our ward, and I was dating someone else, but it was meant to be. He was the EQP, and I was the RSP, and you know what THAT means. Besides that, he was really cute. I came home after our first week at church and made sure my roommates knew just how cute I thought he was, even though it was NINE months before anything happened.

2. How long did you date before you got married? Wow, our first date was over conference weekend in April, and we were engaged soon after my birthday in Mid-May. HOWEVER, we thought about dating months before that, it just never happened. So I guess by the time we went on that first date we’d already kind of decided this relationship had some serious potential.

3.How long have you been married? 7 ½ years, 8 in August.

4. What does he do that surprises you? Very little, to be honest. He’s pretty methodical about most things, from buying clothes he likes because they look like the clothes he already has, to pacing the same path through the house whenever he’s on the phone. He likes order and predictability, and I've never understood his attraction to me in this area, but somehow it works for us. Man, doesn't that make us sound old?

5. What is your favorite feature of his? He has the most beautiful light blue eyes, and he tans completely effortlessly. It’s an amazing combination.

6. What is his best quality?  His work ethic. How boring does that sound? But really that trait seeps into a lot of areas in our life together. He’s amazingly honest and loyal both with me and with his friends and employers. He helps me around the house during the day and with the baby at night, he seems to always be the anchorman on his teams at school, and for years with Black and Decker he was completely honest with his time and efforts although he was largely unsupervised and worked from home. It just wouldn’t cross his mind to do it any other way. Everything he does gets his best effort.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? I think I’ve heard him say “Laursie” from time to time, but I think that came from my family. Nothing too cutesy, though.

8. What is his favorite food? Tough one. I can tell you he dislikes breaded meats and macaroni and cheese. He could almost live on Mountain Dew and pistachios sometimes. But real foods? He loves trying new things and regularly chooses the most exotic sounding dish on the menu when we go out. Like African Lion stew at the Russian place.

9. What is his favorite sport? He played soccer in high school and still enjoys playing that from time to time. When it comes to watching sports, I think his favorites are probably college football, and maybe college basketball. The pros are okay, but there’s just something about college sports...

10. When and where did you first kiss? I totally remember this one. It was on the couch at my apartment. We were sitting there talking, and suddenly I just knew he was going to kiss me, and I remember really thinking through it and deciding whether this was where I wanted things to go or not. Pretty silly, really, as I’d been trying to get him to notice me for months by that point, and suddenly I was going to be coy? Well, I came to my senses just in time.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Anything without the kids. Seriously. We have dates to Walmart from time to time. We also like playing games, both board games and on the wii. He trounces me quite consistently at everything.

12. Do you have any children? Yes, two boys and two girls. I swear some days it’s more, but I guess that’s it.

13.Does he have any hidden talents? Many! He loves to do woodworking and built our baby crib and the kids’ bunkbeds. I hope he’ll get more into it again after school gets out. He’s a great writer and can be dang creative when he wants to be. He’s fantastic at looking briefly at a situation and knowing just what needs to be done. I call it street smarts, but whatever it is, I always feel safe with him. He also makes up wonderful bedtime stories for the kids, completely on the fly. It’s one of their favorite things.

14. How old is he? He is 32. He’s about  5 months younger than I am, and makes sure I remember that.

15. Who said 'I love you' first? I don’t actually remember that. How sad am I? I’d bet he doesn’t remember it, either, which makes me feel a little less like a bad wife.

16. What is his favorite music? He used to be a huge Dave Matthews fan, and now I think likes most grunge sounding stuff. We both like bands like Coldplay, but I also really like Country. He just tolerates it.

17. What do you admire most about him? Besides his ability to put up with me as well as he does? ;-) I admire the way he’s met and overcome the challenges he’s faced in his life. He takes things one day at a time and meets every day head on, without worrying too much about the future and definitely without dwelling on the past. He’s really the engine in our marriage, keeping us grounded and always moving forward.

18. What is his favorite color? I’m going to go with Blue, but I think it depends on what the color is for. He has a lot of blue clothing, but I don’t know that he’d paint the kitchen blue or anything.

19. Will he read this?  Eventually, maybe. He says he reads the blog, but I don’t always believe him.

20. Who will I tag next? Shelly, Kori, Sheila, Melynie, and anyone else who wants to do this. Just let me know when you fill out the form so I can come read your responses, too!